Nice, Lisa. I like Mourning Dove,too. Sorta off topic, but I saw a cardinal feeding a little brown bump of something in the orchard yesterday. I was walking my little senior pup and the cat always has to come with us. Well, I hurried ahead and scooped up the baby cardinal and placed he/she in the tall grass before Kitty spotted it. The baby made a big fuss and spread its wings to try and scare me, I felt bad. The adult hovered nearby so I'm sure it knew where it was.

Our doves did try to eat some of the rice I threw out for them as I had read that someone had said they liked rice. Yesterday I noticed that our baby doves were sitting alone but we were also aware that the Mom and Dad were close by watching over them. Late in the day a Blue Jay was after the two little ones sitting in thier nest. Both parents decended on the Blue Jay until he flew away. Neither of the parents went back to the nest; we were concerned that they wouldn't make it to the next day. To our joy we found the Mom sitting on the nest early in the morning. However later both parents were away from the baby doves. Late this afternoon I was thrilled to witness both the Mom and Dad at the nest; Mom was feeding the little ones. And later - no parents, no baby doves. They had left the nest. My previous witness of all four of them together must have been the LAST family gathering. My question is: Do the parents stay with thier young long enough to teach them full flying lessons or do they kick them out of the nest and expect them to survive on thier own?

I use a mix of millet, cracked corn and sunflower chips for the mourning doves. I use to scatter it on the patio and under the BOSS hanging feeder. The doves love the little seeds and corn. Since I started using this mix I get a lot more doves. Recently I found a company that calls themselves Hurley Byrd feeder company and they build these great big feeders and my husband installed one on a large post. It also has a tray that is made to go under the feeder. This works well since the doves now get on the tray and the feeder. They can be watched a lot better when they sit on the tray and they stay longer. Maybe you can look at theirs and build one yourself. I also noticed I get a lot more of everything on the tray and in this big feeder. Does anyone else use a real large feeders with seed catch trays?

A point about drinking. I haven't watched doves close up like I can the hummingbirds drinking from the hummzinger feeder outside my kitchen window. They do not use suction but lap up the nectar. It looks like a dog's tongue in action. Here's a link to video that will show you what I mean: High-Speed Video Shows How Hummingbirds Really Drink